


A Wing and A Prayer

by ThatBohoFemme



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Anxiety, Babies, Car Seat Drama, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fatherhood, Nervousness, New Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 15:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15197522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatBohoFemme/pseuds/ThatBohoFemme
Summary: Elias has never faced a task as daunting as bringing their new baby home from the hospital.





	A Wing and A Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 5 of DownwithWritersBlock 30 day Challenge: Welcome Home 
> 
> I seem to be running a day to two days behind on these fics but we'll see if i get quicker as the month progresses. 
> 
> In the same verse as Beautiful in My Eyes and You're Where I Belong but you don't need to read them to understand this. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"I thought you got lost." 

Bayley's quip causes Elias to glance up as he walks into the hospital room. She gives him a half angelic, half irritated grin. 

"No, don't want to say you were right but you were _right_." He stares sheepishly at the mint green tile. 

Weeks earlier, she'd told him to install the car seat _before_ they needed it. He promised he would but got busy with media, tours and any other number of things. 

"I told you so," Bayley chirped. "How bad was it?" 

In reality, it had been quite the feat. Instead of the easy job he expected, it took three hours, a call to Tech Support and a video call with _Heath Slater_ to install the damn thing. 

"Oh, not terrible," Elias lied. "You need a PHD in Nuclear Physics to install it. That makes me feel better to know it'll be safe for him." He sat on the foot of the bed, watching as Bayley reached into the bassinet to stroke the baby's hand. 

Bowie George was two days, nine hours and twelve minutes old. In that short span of time, he managed to turn his parents' world upside down. They went from only focusing on themselves and each other to having this perfect, tiny person reliant on them for everything. 

It made Elias _extremely_ nervous. 

"We're waiting on discharge orders and then, we're good to go." Bayley smiled, her tired eyes revealing how much she'd really been through in the last few days. "You, me and Mr. Bowie." 

As if on cue, the baby began to snuffle and cry. Elias moved to get him but Bayley stopped him. She reached over, easing him into her arms. 

It surprised Elias to see she had taken so easy to being a mom. Mind you, he hadn't doubted she would but there was _something_ about seeing the love of your life slip into a role so easily. 

"We'll feed you, change you and then, get you dressed to go home," she cooed, setting the baby to nurse. She gazed adoringly from the baby to Elias. "Thank you for making me a mom." 

Until Bayley, Elias never considered wanting a family. He was a drifter who seemed content to wander. Having a wife and children would hinder him. Then, Bayley showed up, making him realize stability _wouldn't_ be such a bad thing. 

"Thank you," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. He exhaled again, as a nurse walked in, holding a folder of paperwork.

After 15 minutes of discharge instructions, they were free to leave as soon as the orderly showed up with a wheelchair. With that in mind, Bayley changed the baby and worked to secure him in his car seat. 

"Does that look right?" she asked, cocking her head. "I know I don't need to doubt myself but..." She adjusted the chest strap again. 

As Elias had had plenty of time to familiarize himself with the instruction manual, he knew she'd done everything right. He nodded, reaching out to squeeze her hand. 

It took three tries to secure the car seat into the base. While Bayley began to panic, Elias calmly took control of the situation. After all, no one else knew the damn thing better. 

"Thanks, Dad," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you." 

_Dad_....That was the first time she'd called him that. It still sounded so strange for him to realize he was someone's dad. 

Somehow, he managed to get them home in one piece.Until he had precious cargo in the car, he never had cause to notice what bad drivers other people were. 

Needless to say, the sight of his house relieved him. 

"Well, you only cursed at people twice. _Much_ better than I expected." Bayley gave him a sly smile as she struggled to unhook the car seat from the base. 

Once again, Elias came to the rescue by managing to get it out in only _two_ tries. 

"Welcome home, Baby Boy," Bayley cooed, walking in behind Elias. "This is where you'll spend the next 18 years of your life. Hopefully, you'll love us more than you hate us." She turned to Elias. "Can you unstrap him since you've become the car seat expert?" 

Elias unbuckled each strap, taking care not to overly jostle their sleeping baby. The entire time he worked, it seemed like his heart beat faster and faster. 

"Here we go, Bowie," he cooed, bringing the baby to his shoulder. 

He knew he should put the baby in his bassinet, let him adjust to his new environment but he couldn't bring himself to. 

Instead, he settled on the couch, the baby sleeping peacefully on his chest. Bayley snuggled as close to him as her body would allow. Then, they spent the afternoon, staring in awed silence at their miracle. 

The only time he moved was to order take-out, just as the baby woke for his afternoon feeding. He handed him to Bayley, rising to find his phone. 

He came back to see Bayley nursing, telling their son about all she wanted for his future. He stayed silent, just watching as he ignored the stabs of jealousy. 

He couldn't believe how easily Bayley took to Motherhood. He could only wish he took to being a dad half as well. All the responsibility and what that meant _terrified_ him. 

"Hey, mind burping him while I run to the bathroom?" she asked, smoothing her shirt down. He nodded, settling back down on the couch. He watched as she draped a linen burp rag over his shoulder. 

The baby fussed as Elias began to rub his back. The soft mews turned into agitated cries after a few minutes. 

_You got this. Relax and pat._ he thought, patting harder. He shook his head, noticing his wife offering to take the baby. 

"I've got this," he mumbled, doing his best to keep his cool. Then, he heard the baby belch. "Good job." 

As the pizza arrived, he passed Bowie back to Bayley. He dealt with the delivery driver and came back to find her hovering over the bassinet. 

"Have you noticed he has your hands?" she asked, inspecting their son. "Bet he's going to rival you with the music." 

"We can only hope," he said, twining their fingers together. "Come on, let's eat." 

He could remember the only piece of advice Heath gave him during their lengthy video call. 

_Rome wasn't built in a day, and always let babies sleep._

As he guided her back to the couch, he glanced back to the bassinet with a somewhat confident, somewhat uneasy smile. 

He could do this. 

-fin-


End file.
